Chapter Text
"This place is a lot bigger than I expected."
Curious dark eyes scanned the front hall of Stamford University. Freshman Becky Lynch peered through the passenger side window of her best friend's SUV; The front courtyard was crawling with students all eager to start a new semester.
"Yeah, wait until ya get ta walk around a bit," Becky's best friend, Finn Balor, spoke from the driver's seat with an enthusiastic smile of his own. "T'ere are places even I haven't seen yet."
Finn was a returning sophomore, having been able to attend the previous year.
After much thinking and much persuasive talk from Finn, Becky decided to choose Stamford University as her college of choice. Becky was already warmed up to the idea of SU, mostly because of their nationally recognized women's soccer team and insanely massive weight room, but hearing the stories about the kind of mischief Finn had gotten into was more than enough to seal the deal.
"What are all t'e tables across the front lawn?" Becky asked, eyeing the setup towards the front entrance to the student center.
"Freshmen orientation," Finn said. "They give you a copy of your schedule and your dorm assignment."
Becky watched a group of girls walk up to a table and begin chatting with someone who Becky figured was a senior advisor.
"How do I know which table to go up to?" She asked.
"The tables have letters on them; They go by yer last name," Finn said. "So you'll be looking for an "L"."
Becky looked at Finn with a smirk. "Really? How do you know?" She asked, layering the sarcasm on thickly.
Finn chuckled. "Just making sure you don't get lost, lass." He laughed again when Becky playfully punched him in the shoulder.
Finn and Becky had known each other for most of their lives; Both grew up in the same town in Northern Ireland. After Becky and Finn were accepted into a student exchange program when Finn was fourteen and Becky was thirteen, Finn moved in with Becky's family since Finn's family couldn't afford to move to the United States. Luckily, they remained best friends all throughout middle and high school.
Becky was a sport-loving, straight-A student, while Finn was also a sports lover but struggled with schoolwork. However, Finn still managed to receive a baseball scholarship to SU, while Becky received a soccer scholarship.
"Sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky to get accepted here," Becky said, unbuckling her seat belt after Finn found a parking spot.
"That Pele kick against Akron High definitely helped a lot," Finn said, referring to Becky's amazing athleticism.
Becky smiled and nodded her head. "That's true."
Finn chuckled and popped open his door before sliding out. He slid on a pair of dark sunglasses to block out the early morning sun while making his way to the trunk of his SUV.
"You excited?" Finn asked Becky when she joined him behind the truck.
"You have no freaking clue, Finn," Becky said, visibly nervous.
Finn opened the trunk and handed Becky her suitcase and duffel bag.
"Where's your stuff?" Becky asked.
"My dorm," Finn said.
Becky tilted her head in question. "What do you mean?"
"You get assigned a dorm today and it's yours for the next four years," Finn said.
"Wait really? So I get the same roommate every year?" Becky asked, surprised to hear about the living conditions.
"Until you or they graduate," Finn said, beginning to lead Becky to the front lawn of the main building.
Becky followed Finn, blocking the sun with her hand and cursing herself for not bringing sunglasses or a jacket, taking note of the slight chill in the air, figuring it made sense, it being late August and all.
"You think there'll be any hot chicks here?" Dean Ambrose asked from the backseat of his best friend's car while staring out the window.
"Shit, I hope so." Seth, the aforementioned friend, said. Seth turned and looked at his other friend, Roman Reigns, who was sitting in the passenger seat slowly flipping through the pages of the school's brochure. "You alright, man?" Seth asked Roman.
"He's just bummed out about Summer," Dean chimed in before Roman could answer. "First thing we gotta do is get him laid."
"Actually, the first thing we gotta do is check-in," Roman replied, shaking his head at Dean's comment. "I barely remember what Coach Layfield said last week because you wouldn't shut up about getting "some college ass"."
Roman, Seth, and Dean had been best friends since middle school. All three played football, but Roman was the only one to receive a scholarship. Today was the trio's first day of their freshman year, and all were excited in their own way: Roman for football, Seth for football but also the education, and Dean was more focused on attending every single party that year.
"Actually, Ro, the first thing we gotta do is find out where and when this first party is happening," Dean said. The trio had heard a rumor from a friend of theirs that the students throw a party at the beginning of every school year to celebrate the incoming semester. "This is the biggest party school this side of the Mississippi; We have to find out."
"Down, boy," Seth said with a chuckle. "We'll more than likely hear about that after we get checked in."
"We outta get him fixed just in case," Roman told Seth, making both men laugh.
"That's not what Summer told me," Dean said.
"Dean, whoa," Seth said, not liking his comment.
"That was uncalled for, Dean," Roman said.
Summer Rae, Roman's ex, recently broke up with Roman after a three-year relationship. Why? She cheated on him several times with the captain of the soccer team. Dean, however, always gave Roman a hard time when it came to Summer. All three boys knew it was in good spirits, but the leftover heartbreak still stung Roman.
Dean shook his head. "Dude, Roman, it's totally-"
"Juvenile?" Seth asked, interrupting Dean. "You learn a word and you just love repeating it, don't you?"
Roman and Seth chuckled while Dean shook his head and slumped in his seat.
"It is though," Dean muttered.
"Besides," Seth continued. "You're never gonna see her again; You'll go to a party, meet some smokin' brunette, and forget all about her."
Roman chuckled. "Smokin' brunette?"
"Redhead, blonde, black, purple, neon white," Dean added. "As long as they're hot."
"Neon white?" Seth repeated with a laugh. "That's bright as hell."
"Bitches be crazy, Seth," Dean said. Dean suddenly sat up in his seat when the school came into view. "Holy shit, look at this place." He said, literally bouncing in his seat.
"This place is huge," Roman added, looking out the window at the school. "We didn't see jack-shit last week."
"Shit," Seth added. "This place is gonna be chaos."
"Damn, look at the hottie with the purple hair," Dean said, rolling down the window. "Hey, lil' mama, wanna ride?" He yelled out the window.
Seth turned and threw a plastic water bottle at Dean, making him laugh and roll the window back up.
"Lil' mama?" Sasha Banks repeated, staring at a black Chevy Impala where someone yelled to her. Sasha shrugged her shoulders and continued making her way towards the orientation tables.
Sasha was from Boston. She caught word of the school when she was applying for college. It had an unbelievable weight room and a nationally recognized volleyball team, which Sasha had received an all-conference award all four years in high school. Despite many protests from her mother about this school's reputation, Sasha chose Stamford University as her home for the next four years.
"Hey yo, purple hair," A short guy with a beard suddenly jumped in front of Sasha and began dancing wildly in front of her. "How you doin'?" He asked.
Sasha furrowed her brow in confusion and watched this crazy person as he continued dancing.
"Relax, 'Zo, you're scarin' the poor girl." A much taller guy approached Sasha, causing her to crane her neck to make eye contact with him.
"Wow, you're really tall." Sasha said to the taller guy.
"He's seven feet tall," "'Zo" said, stopping his dance. "You can't teach that, ya know."
"No, you can't," The taller guy said, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics. "Anyways, welcome to Stamford University. I'm Colin Cassidy, but everyone calls me Big Cass."
"Cuz he's big." '"Zo" added.
Big Cass shook his head and rolled his eyes again. "You already met Enzo; He can be a handful at times."
"Know what he's sayin'?" Enzo said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"For Christ's sake." Big Cass muttered. "Anyway," He said louder. "We're part of the welcoming committee," Big Cass gestured at his shirt that said "Welcoming Committee" across the chest. "We're both juniors, and we are here to help out any newbies."
"You looked a little lost, lil' mama." Enzo said, making Sasha cringe at the "lil' mama" part.
"Actually, I'd like some help," Sasha said, sighing when Enzo started dancing again. "Which table do I check in with?"
"They're alphabetized: Table one is "A" through "G"." He paused and sighed when Enzo said "How you doin'" when he said G. "Table two is "H" through "N", table three "O" through "V", and table four is- Enzo would you cut it out?!" Big Cass yelled at Enzo, who was still dancing obnoxiously.
Enzo stopped dancing. "What? It's part of the orientation, Big Cass, lil' lady gots to know I got the hot sauce."
Big Cass turned back to Sasha. "If you have any other questions, feel free to ask either of us. There's also Bo and my girl, Carmella, who's probably too busy with her makeup to care but," He paused and shrugged his shoulders. "It is what it is."
"How you doin'?" Enzo added.
Sasha nodded her head and thanked Enzo and Big Cass before continuing towards the orientation tables.
Sasha slid her jacket on and zipped it up, thanking herself for listening to her mother when she suggested she'd bring one. Sasha took a quick glance at the tables and found the "A-G" table; She took a spot in line behind only a few people.
Glancing around, Sasha smiled to herself. The atmosphere was light and cheery, which made her a little less nervous about her first day; Sasha really felt like she made the right choice about this school.
Looking at the other freshmen standing in line, Sasha paused and eyed a particular girl: She was chatting with some guy, but the thing that caught Sasha's attention was her bright orange hair.
"She likes to dye hers too," Sasha thought. She didn't realize she was staring until the orange hair girl noticed her. Sasha, taken by surprise at first, smiled at the girl. The orange-haired girl smiled back and shyly turned her head away.
"Hey, you," The girl behind the table said, making Sasha come back to reality. "You ok?"
Sasha quickly nodded her head and approached the table. "Yeah, sorry, I'm alright." She said with a nervous chuckle.
"Good. Name please?" The girl said.
"Sasha Banks," Sasha said, not being able to help look back in the direction of the orange-haired girl. Sasha quickly found her, but she had her head turned away.
"Banks... Banks..." The girl muttered, searching through a clear plastic tote. "Brie, have you seen a Banks, first name Sasha?" The girl asked a similar-looking girl.
"Whoa, twins." Sasha chuckled.
The girl turned back to Sasha. "Yeah, that's my sister Brie; I'm Nikki." She said, offering her hand to Sasha.
Sasha smiled and shook Nikki's hand. "Nice to meet you."
"You too," Nikki turned back towards Brie. "Did you find it?" Nikki knelt beside her sister and helped her search through a second tote.
Sasha turned her head in the orange-haired girl's direction again; The girl was already staring at Sasha, but shyly turned away again when they met gazes. Sasha smiled to herself and turned her attention back to Nikki and Brie.
"Ah-ha, gotcha!" Nikki exclaimed, snatching a manila envelope from the tote and walked back towards the table. "Sasha Banks, Freshie from Boston. Your schedule is in here along with a few other orientation junk," Nikki handed Sasha her folder. "You also get a free lanyard," Nikki handed Sasha a dark red lanyard. Sasha examined the lanyard; It was dark red, with "Stamford University" written on it in white letters, as well as the school's mascot, which was a Titan. "And your dorm assignment." Nikki handed Sasha a slip of paper. "Big Cass is doing tours too in an hour."
Sasha glanced at the piece of paper. "Where are the Harley Race dorms?"
Nikki pointed at a building across the street. "Right across the street; They should have a big sign in front in case you ever get too drunk to remember."
Sasha chuckled. "Does that happen a lot?"
"Oh god yeah," Nikki said. She looked around quickly before leaning over the table. "SU is a huge party school; There's going to be a party later tonight at the Beta Pi Omega frat house, which my boy toy John runs, and it's gonna be pretty epic."
Sasha nodded her head, excited about the idea of a party. "I'll totally be there." She said with a smile.
"Awesome," Nikki said, sitting back down in her seat and helping the next freshman.
Sasha turned away from the table and started walking back to her car so she could get her luggage and bring it to her dorm.
"Hopefully I won't be too yellow at soccer tryouts," Becky said, referring to the color of the shirt the girl behind the table had.
"Oh my god," Finn muttered, dropping his head into his hand.
"Cool, see you there." The girl said, visibly scared of Becky.
Becky and Finn turned away from the table. "You scared that poor girl, you know," Finn said to Becky.
Becky raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? I'm punny, Finn, eh?" Becky said, poking Finn in the arm while he groaned and shook his head.
"You're awful," Finn said. "Where are we going again?"
"Harley Race dormitories." Becky recited the dorm assignment from the slip of paper she got along with her class schedule.
"It's just up here," Finn said, crossing the street.
"What's yours?" Becky asked.
"Bruno Sammartino, just a little ways from yours," Finn said. "I lucked out and got a singles room, though."
"Will I get a single?" Becky asked.
"There aren't any singles in Race," Finn said, chuckling to himself. "Heaven knows I've been in and out of that place enough times to know that."
Becky scoffed and slapped Finn on his chest. "Sinner." She muttered, making Finn laugh.
Becky and Finn arrived at the dorm hall; Finn opened the door for Becky and let her lead him inside. Taking a quick survey, Becky noticed it was a lot bigger on the inside than she expected: The commons area had several couches and a few tables and chairs, along with a few TVs and even a pinball machine.
"What's your room number?" Finn asked.
"Two thirteen," Becky said, readjusting her duffel bag so a few people could walk past her.
Finn nodded his head and led Becky down the hallway. "Two means second floor, thirteen is your room number."
Becky nodded her head. "Ok," She paused when she noticed a guy and girl in the same room. "Are these dorms co-ed?"
Finn chuckled. "Hell yeah."
Becky rolled her eyes and continued following Finn. Soon, they arrived at a staircase and climbed to the second floor.
"Take the elevator when your shite faced," Finn said. "Trust me."
After walking through another long hallway, Finn stopped at Becky's room.
"This is it," Becky said, taking her room key and unlocking the door. Becky stepped inside and gasped. "This place is bigger than me mum's apartment!"
"Yeah, two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, big living room," Finn said, following Becky inside.
The dorm was completely empty for now, aside from a leather sofa in the living room and a queen-size bed in each bedroom. Becky ran around the dorm in absolute shock.
"It's so freakin' big." She exclaimed, finally coming to a rest in the living room.
"Anyway, I gotta get going; Gonna make sure me stuff is still in me room," Finn said, walking out of the dorm.
Becky chose a bedroom and dropped her duffel bag on the bed. "So freaking awesome," Becky whispered to herself, diving back first onto the bed.
Roman, Dean, and Seth marched up to Bruno Sammartino hall, eager to get to their assigned rooms.
"What room do you guys have?" Seth asked.
"Six-oh-four." Roman and Dean said in unison.
"I got six-oh-five," Seth said. "Hopefully my roommate isn't a complete psycho. The good thing is I'm right next door."
The trio made their way to the sixth floor; Luckily there was an elevator to make things easier.
Roman and Dean entered their room together, while Seth uneagerly entered his. Seth took a look around; There was a suitcase set beside the couch, meaning his roommate had already arrived.
Seth shrugged his shoulders and headed towards one of the bedrooms. Once Seth opened the door, he was met with terrified screaming. Also petrified, Seth stumbled back and tripped on his own feet trying to back away from the bedroom. A brunette-haired girl with a sideways ponytail emerged from the bedroom and threw a shoe at him.
"What are you doing, you pervert?!" The girl screamed at Seth, throwing another shoe at him.
Seth threw his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the girl's attacks. "Stop! This is my room!" Seth yelled back, hoping to halt the crazy girl. "Six-oh-five! Six-oh-five!"
The girl suddenly stopped yelling and throwing things. "What?" She asked.
"I live here," Seth said, slowly uncovering his face.
The girl groaned in frustration. "I told them I didn't want a guy roommate!"
Seth propped himself on his elbows. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in on you like that."
"It's fine," She offered her hand to Seth, who accepted and helped himself up. "I'm just... Really protective of my body."
"Understandable," Seth said. "I'm Seth by the way."
The girl smiled slightly. "Bayley." She suddenly threw her arms around Seth and pulled him into a bone-crunching embrace.
"You're a hugger, huh?" Seth asked, hugging Bayley back.
Bayley broke the hug and nodded her head. "My mom says I make friends real easy." She said, more energetic than the way she was previously speaking.
"Are you a freshman too?" Seth asked.
Bayley shook her head. "Returning sophomore; My roommate graduated last year, but she was really fun so you have a lot to live up to."
Seth chuckled. "Well, shit, I'll try my best."
Bayley gasped in surprise. "Swear." She disappeared into her bedroom but quickly reappeared, holding a glass jar. "You owe a dollar." She said, waving the jar in front of Seth.
Seth raised an eyebrow in confusion, eyeing the "Swear Jar" label taped on the jar. "You serious?" He asked.
"As serious as cancer," Bayley said.
Seth, deciding not to argue with his roommate, removed a crumpled five-dollar bill from his pocket and dropped it into the jar.
"A five?" Bayley asked.
"I'm prepaying," Seth said, making Bayley burst out laughing.
Seth heard snickering coming from behind him; He turned around to find Roman and Dean standing in his doorway.
"I'm prepaying," Dean said to Roman, still snickering.
"Hello, strangers," Bayley said to Roman and Dean. "Who're you?"
"I'm Roman, that's Dean," Roman said, finally composing himself. "We're friends of Seth."
Bayley set the swear jar on the counter then hurried over to Roman and Dean. Bayley hugged Roman, then Dean.
"I like her," Dean said. Still hugging Bayley, Dean slid his hands towards Bayley's backside.
Bayley yelled in surprise and backed away from Dean. "No," She said, pointing her index finger at Dean. "And no means no, mister."
Dean raised his hands in mock defense. "No problema, chica. (No problem, girl)"
Bayley's face lit up. "¿Tu hablas español? ¡Excelente! (You speak Spanish? Awesome!)"
Dean furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"
"Él no habla español (He doesn't speak Spanish)," Seth said, making Bayley gasp in surprise. "Él no es muy intelligent. (He isn't very smart)"
Bayley laughed. "Mi nuevo amigo habla español. Esto es maravilloso. (My new friend speaks Spanish. This is marvelous.)"
Dean cleared his throat. "Could you speak American when I'm here?"
"Lo siento. I mean, I'm sorry," Bayley said.
Dean backed out of the dorm.
"It was nice meeting you," Roman said to Bayley before following Dean.
"I'll go put my stuff in my room," Seth said. "I'll make sure not to walk in on anybody."
Bayley giggled and nodded her head, slowly giving Seth a once over as he walked away.
Sasha dragged her suitcase into her new dorm; Taking a look around, Sasha was impressed with the size of the dorm.
"Must just be me," Sasha thought to herself, not seeing any sign of her roommate.
Sasha wheeled her things into a bedroom, not seeing the orange-haired girl from before laying on the bed with headphones over her ears.
Becky had her arms resting behind her head, nodding her head to the rhythm of the song playing in her headphones. Sasha opened the closet door but stopped when she found clothes inside.
"My roomie must've picked this room already," Sasha said to herself. "Wonder where she is."
Sasha spun around and nearly yelled in surprise when she spotted Becky.
"I love The Beatles," Becky said aloud, taking her headphones off.
Becky sat up in bed, nearly having a heart attack when she saw Sasha.
Both girls sat there in silence, both too scared to say anything. The exchange from barely half an hour before popped into both girl's minds, causing them each to blush.
"Me too," Sasha said, breaking the silence.
"Y-you too?" Becky asked.
"The Beatles," Sasha said. "I love them."
Becky smiled and nodded her head. "Paul and John are amazing."
"Are you Irish?" Sasha asked, easing slightly.
Becky nodded her head. "Yeah, I was born in Dublin."
"I'm from Boston," Sasha said. "Nothing too special."
Becky shrugged her shoulders. "You have a pretty accent, so it must be."
Sasha looked away from Becky, feeling her face grow hot from her compliment. "So, uh, I'll go put my stuff in my room, ok?" Sasha said. "I didn't know you picked this room already."
"You're welcome in here anytime," Becky said with a cheeky smile.
Sasha chuckled. "Get me drunk enough and I'll spend the night in here." She said, making both girls laugh.
"I didn't get your name," Becky said.
"Sasha," Sasha said. "But you can call me the "Boss"."
Becky chuckled. "I'm Becky, but you can call me... Well, Becky."
Sasha smiled and nodded her head. "Nice to meet you, roomie."
"You too."
Sasha left the room and shut the door. Finally finding the ability to breathe, Becky fell back onto her bed and took a deep breath.
"What kind of spell is this?" Becky thought to herself, referring to the natural draw she felt towards Sasha.
Sasha smiled to herself and dropped her stuff into her room. Making her way back to Becky's room, Sasha knocked on her door. "Becky, you wanna get some breakfast? We can get to know each other a little more."
Becky immediately jumped off her bed. Taking a deep breath to fight back her nerves, Becky opened the door and smiled at Sasha.
"You're the Boss," Becky said, making Sasha chuckle.
"You got that right," Sasha said.
"Ya know, you're from BOSS-ton, you ever think of that?" Becky asked.
"I'm gonna go ask for a new roommate." Sasha joked.
"Oh, you'll learn to love ma puns, lass," Becky said, leading Sasha out of the dorm.
"Hopefully," Sasha thought to herself with a smile.